06 Oct 2017

Tradition makes us stronger…

Please allow me first to send my sincere congratulations to the Russian National Team and the Russian Football Federation for their recent Euro Beach Soccer League success… well done, guys!

The European season has now come to its conclusion and has done so on a high note. During these last three months, which began with a stunning Euro Winners Cup that brought together more teams and players than ever before, we have seen our sport again spread itself far and wide across the continent.

Tradition is something that makes any sport stronger and this summer we have seen the beach soccer legacy continue to grow steadily further. As well as the fifth version of the Euro Winners Cup, we also experienced the 21st edition of the longest-running beach soccer event, the BSWW Mundialito in its traditional home of Cascais, Portugal, complete with no fewer than four FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Champions.

And speaking of solidity, the Euro Beach Soccer League this year celebrated its 20th edition. Two decades without interruption is something we can all be very proud of.

These 20 years have seen the the whole continent come together through the love of beach soccer and, since its first edition, 21 different countries have hosted Euro Beach Soccer League events, highlighting the appeal our sport continues to enjoy across various countries.

This year’s competition also brought us the resurgence of former world champions Russia, with a new-look squad that managed to claim their fifth European title amid fierce competition from the continent’s best nations in Terracina.

Rarely in the competition’s history has the finale been so keenly contested with many of the top-tier countries turning in impressive displays and harbouring genuine ambitions of the title going into the final day of group games, prior to Russia’s impressive final-day success against Portugal.

A word also for Turkey - who will play their European football in Division A next year after getting the better of Estonia in the Division B final.

I’d also like to mention that this European season has confirmed that beach soccer is now the FIFA modality with the best reputation for Fair Play*. During this year’s continental league, a total of 176 yellow cards were shown, which makes for an average of less than two per game, and only one red card every 11 games. This is something that makes us feel really proud, too.

But the show must go on and, having brought the curtain down on a successful 2017 European campaign, our commitment is now to make the 2018 season even better.

*According to the official statistics of the last two FIFA World Cups, FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups and FIFA Futsal World Cups.